Town of Huntsville takes unique approach to house tourism and hospitality workers
The Town of Huntsville is taking a unique approach to dealing with the housing crisis by subsidizing accommodation to attract and retain tourism and hospitality workers.
Town council agreed to a pilot project with Explorers' Edge that could serve as a blueprint for similar endeavours in other regions and industries.
"There's many frontline tourism jobs, low-paying tourism jobs, and for us for individuals to come into work - nobody is going to put their best foot forward if they're worrying about how to pay their mortgage or put food on the table," said Explorers' Edge CEO James Murphy.
Employers and potential employees cite attainable housing as a significant factor in the workforce shortage.
- Download the CTV News app now and get local alerts on your device
- Get local breaking news and updates sent to your email inbox
Deerhurst Resort General Manager Andrew Buwalda said the town currently has a zero vacancy rate.
The popular resort's staff housing facilities host roughly 100 beds and a full-time shuttle service for employees.
"If we didn't have those facilities, we would certainly not have the levels of employment that we need to operate the resort on a year-round basis," Buwalda said.
The proposed Catalyst Housing would also offer work-integrated career and life skills training in return for working in the regional tourism or hospitality industry for a short time.
"And it's not just in tourism, it's in financial literacy because when you're done, we want you to be much more able to purchase a home and lay some foundational groundwork in the area," noted Murphy.
"It's greater than housing. It's training. It's keeping people in your community and supporting people in your community," stated Mayor Nancy Alcock.
While funding for the initiative has not been finalized, Explorers' Edge is exploring various financing avenues, including community bonds, without leaning on the tax base.
The initial phase of the project is set to be supported by a combination of budgeted funds from the Town and a matching contribution from Explorers' Edge.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6970476.1721410082!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
The CrowdStrike outage is affecting health-care services in Canada. Here's what you need to know
A global technology outage that's grounded flights and delayed border crossings is also challenging health-care services in the country, as issues with Microsoft services persist.
Quebec woman's death warns of dangers of cosmetic surgery abroad
Brian McConnell's daughter, Florence McConnell, died after a liposuction surgery complication in Morocco. Now, he warns others against undergoing cosmetic surgeries abroad.
Tentative deal to end LCBO strike on hold as province accuses union of introducing new demands
The LCBO strike appears to be back on just hours after a tentative agreement was announced.
Polar bear 'Baffin' dies at Calgary Zoo after not resurfacing from pool
A polar bear died in its enclosure at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo on Friday.
'I feel cheated': Here are the products hit hardest by shrinkflation
Canadians who feel like they are getting less bang for their buck at the grocery store these days might be right. A new report shows the effects of shrinkflation are real.
opinion Trump's assassination attempt not a political winner
Danger and fear are so pervasive throughout the national political ethos it is now the norm, writes Washington political columnist Eric Ham.
Woman guilty of murdering, dismembering boyfriend in Nanaimo, B.C.
A 28-year-old British Columbia woman has been found guilty of killing and dismembering her boyfriend on Vancouver Island nearly four years ago.
Saskatchewan Party candidate for nomination withdraws, apologizes for putting child in blackface
A former prospective Saskatchewan Party nominee has apologized for putting a student in blackface.
Canadian flights, hospitals, border disrupted during global technology outage
A global technology outage grounded flights, disrupted hospitals and backed up border crossings in Canada on Friday, as issues persisted hours after problems with Microsoft services were said to be getting fixed.